This research compares screen use among 8- to 18-year-olds in 2019 with screen use in 2021, documenting changes in media use patterns during the pandemic.

This survey gives voice to young people’s experiences using social media and other digital health tools to promote their well-being. It includes extensive open-ended questions, and compares findings to a 2018 baseline survey.

This probability-based telephone survey of more than 1,000 lower-income parents documents the importance of digital equity during remote learning.

This survey explores how young people have used online resources during COVID for socialization, informal learning, and creative expression.

This report presents the results of a nationally-representative survey of more than 1,600 U.S. 8- to 18-year-olds, about their use of media. The report tracks changes in tweens’ and teens’ media behaviors between 2015 and 2019. Topics include young people’s enjoyment of various types of media activities, how frequently they engage in those activities, and how much time they spend doing so. The survey addresses all types of media: from reading books in print to listening to music to using social media to playing video games.

The complexity of social media’s role in young people’s lives may frustrate those looking for easy answers or simplistic solutions. But it is a reality that this survey has made abundantly clear.” Read the new survey VJR Consulting did for Common Sense Media, tracking trends in teen social media use from 2012 to 2018. The survey includes data about how often US teens use social media; specific actions they take (active vs. passive use); when they do or don’t take breaks from social media; how often they encounter racist and sexist content online; and whether social media makes them feel better or worse about themselves. The survey explores the relationship of social media use with teens’ social and emotional well-being, including a special focus on more vulnerable teens.

This nationally representative probability survey of 14- to 22-year-olds sheds important new light on the relationship between social media use and adolescent depression. The survey reveals that teens and young adults are making extensive use of the internet, social media, and mobile apps to help address their depression and anxiety. In addition, young people suffering from depression or anxiety have diverse responses to social media – for some, it is an important lifeline to support and human connection, while for others it just reinforces negative emotions.  Many young people exhibit a high degree of 'agency' about how they use social media - consciously curating their feeds for inspiration and support, or staying off social media entirely during tough times.

It's not often that public service campaigns get a platform as large as the one the NO MORE campaign got at the 2015 Super Bowl, when a NO MORE PSA on domestic violence aired before a huge television audience.  The LA Times called it "the single most important thing on television this year" and MediaPost reported that it was the second-best-viewed ad in the Super Bowl!  (Watch CNN's story about the ad and the NFL's decision to donate the airtime.)  VJR Consulting is very proud to have been part of this campaign from the start, working with a coalition of domestic violence and sexual assault organizations to help develop and launch the NO MORE Project. We designed, recruited participants for, and facilitated strategic planning workshops with media and advertising experts; directed the formative consumer research including focus groups in New York, San Jose and Atlanta; oversaw an online survey to test specific concepts; wrote the strategic plan for the project; and helped negotiate media partnerships to secure free air time for the PSAs.

Today there are more platforms for educational media content than ever before. There are scores of cable channels, hundreds of computer games, thousands of apps, and millions of websites. One question that has never been answered before is: how much of this content is educational? This study concerns media used in the home. It is the first study we know of to attempt to quantify, on a national level, how much of children’s media time is devoted to educational content, platform by platform, age by age. It also provides a measure of parents’ experiences with the educational media their children use.

We loved working with Cartoon Network and the Making Caring Common project at Harvard University on this nationally-representative, probability-based survey of 9- to 11-year-olds. The survey documents the number of kids that have witnessed or experienced bullying, as well as how many have tried to help someone who has been bullied.